


Rose-Colored Boy

by nebulas (strawberry_bee)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Blind Date, Carnival, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Reaper76 - Freeform, ana is tired of gabe moping around and wants him to find someone to DATE, and gabe isnt HAPPY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 11:18:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10989855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_bee/pseuds/nebulas
Summary: Gabe hated blind dates. Gabe also hated runny eggs. The execution of the plate was all there; a piece of bacon for the smile, two eyes made of eggs, all on top of a chocolate chip pancake. Jack cleared his throat from across the table. Gabe glanced up briefly. The blonde had been picking at his hash browns for the past half hour after generously dumping the stuff with ketchup. The execution of the date definitely was not all there.“This place blows. Wanna go hit the carnival?” Jack asked.“What are we, teens on our first date?” Gabe asked incredulously.-------Blind date's are hard to get through.





	Rose-Colored Boy

Gabe hated blind dates. Gabe also hated runny eggs. The execution of the plate was all there; a piece of bacon for the smile, two eyes made of eggs, all on top of a chocolate chip pancake. Jack cleared his throat from across the table. Gabe glanced up briefly. The blonde had been picking at his hash browns for the past half hour after generously dumping the stuff with ketchup. The execution of the date definitely was not all there.

“This place blows. Wanna go hit the carnival?” Jack asked.

“What are we, teens on our first date?” Gabe asked incredulously. He winced a little at his tone. He knew that Ana was just trying to find someone for him. God knew how many hours he spent laying on her couch whining about how alone he was. He bit the inside of his lip. If he hadn’t been so melodramatic, he wouldn’t be here sitting across from some midwest redneck’s dream guy.

“No, but I’d rather do something outside of watching you drown this diner’s special in its own yolk,” Jack said.

“Fair enough. I’m paying,” It was the least he could do. It wasn’t Jack’s fault he had caught Gabe in the middle of one of his funks. Hell, Gabe was sorry he was always catching himself in these funks. Something something depression, something something he was going to die alone if he didn’t cheer the hell up long enough to snag someone.

“Uhm. Well, I would feel a lot better if I did. I suggested the place anyways,” Jack replied. Gabe raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, trying to flex your sugar daddy muscles on me, now?” Gabe joked. Jack blushed bright red, ducking his head.

“No, no. I don’t have the kind of money to be anyone’s sugar daddy,” He mumbled, sliding out from the booth. Gabe watched him go. He had a nice ass, but he wasn’t good with talking back. A shame.

He neatly cleaned up the table, leaving a twenty dollar tip before following Jack to the front of the diner. The workers were underpaid here, and he had waited his fair share of tables during his college days. It was nice to be that stranger he had prayed for during those months that he lived from paycheck to paycheck. He rested his hip on the counter while Jack paid, opening up a mint to suck on.

He watched Jack sign the tip out of the corner of his eye. Twenty percent. Their waitress hadn’t been the best, but wasn’t the worst. Gabe crossed his arms over his chest. So maybe there was something more to the American sweetheart than met the eye. Jack glanced at him briefly, smiling a shy smile as he slid the bill across the table to the waitress. Gabe winked at him.

“So, should we uh, yknow,” Jack jerked a thumb behind him. Gabe rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“I’ll keep you safe baby blues,” Gabe said brightly, leading the way out. He thought he heard Jack mumble ‘baby blues?’ behind him, but paid him no mind. A guy like that didn’t deserve such pretty eyes.

“So, er, Gabe, Ana told me you were an astrophysicist?” Jack asked, catching up to Gabe’s longer stride. Gabe automatically tilted his head upwards to look at the blanket of void above their heads. It was an old friend, the sky.  

“Yup, I’m a sucker for pushing the boundaries of the known into the unknown,” Gabe said lightly. What he wanted to say was that he always wanted to be an astronaut, but with a heart murmur, they wouldn’t touch him with a twenty foot pole. Nevermind the fact that the majority of America’s astronauts had been fresh from the valley ivy league blue eyed blondes. But that was a third date kind of subject. Not that there would be one.

“That’s admirable. I just, never thought of much past high school, you know? I was the quarterback, the star of my school, and I blew it all on a torn ligament in my knee in my final semester,” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. Gabe frowned. So this guy wore his heart on his sleeve. He was tempted to point out that living a portion of the American dream was sure as hell better than anyone else could even hope to have. But that would also be ruining any chances he had with this guy. Well, what was left of it.

They walked down the street, heading towards the ferris wheel on the horizon. Gabe bit his lip. He had spent so much time thinking about who Jack was, he had forgotten to respond, and at that point it might’ve been too late. Ah, to hell with it.

“Hey man, at least you’ve still got the brains to do something more than knocking into other people. Concussions and all that,” He tapped his temple lightly.

“Yeah, a mechanic sure is something,” Jack replied. He took a deep breath, his shirt straining across the span of his chest before he let it out in one, low whistle. “Look, I’m not generally so down and glum. Guess you caught me on a bad night.”

Gabe couldn’t help it. He started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Jack asked, stopping just feet ahead.

“Man, here I was, thinking I was all alone in being depressed as hell. It’s cool, it happens to me too. The down and out part,” Gabe said.

“Oh thank god, I thought I had to keep being cheery to not hurt your feelings,” Jack admitted, running his hand through his hair.

“Nah dude, ‘Your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service—two dishes, but to one table.’ and all that shit,” Gabe said, catching up to Jack.

“I recognize the Hamlet, but why is it relevant?” Jack asked, bumping his hip against Gabe’s.

“We’ll all be shit out by worms in the end, so who care’s if we’re in a shitty mood on a blind date,” Gabe said.

“I’m enjoying the gallows humor,” Jack said lightly, glancing at him.

“Don’t worry sweetcheeks, I’m full of closets full of skeletons,” Gabe said. “Now let’s have a depressing ass date together and tell Ana about it afterwards.”

 

The carnival was just as postironic as Gabe expected. There was a thick coating of popcorn and crushed styrofoam cups on the ground. The open mouthed clown trash cans were choking on their own products, and the crowds milled around endlessly. Gabe glanced at the poorly constructed stuffed animals at the head of a rifle range.

“Have your eye on one?” Jack asked, elbowing his arm. Gabe opened his mouth to say no, and then popped it shut.

“The pink one, with a rose between it’s teeth,” He said, pointing to the largest prize there. Jack whistled.

“Huh, I figured by the sugar daddy comment you had expensive tastes, but now I know you’re high maintenance,” Jack said, heading right for the stand.

“Oh, I love it when a man calls me high maintenance,” Gabe joked, wrapping an arm around Jack’s waist.

“You’ll have to step back, I need to focus,” Jack said, gently sidestepping from Gabe’s arms as he handed the carnival worker his ten dollars. Gabe bit back a smile as Jack took the bb gun from the attendant. He lifted the gun with practiced ease, settling the butt of it against his shoulder as he focused on the turning yellow painted ducks that moved on a chain just ten feet away.

If Gabe could swoon over a man and a bb gun, it would be right about then. Jack turned back to him with a look of pride as he handed him the massive penguin with the rose between its teeth. He held the terribly constructed toy close to his chest. One of its eyes was a good inch further up than the other. He loved that damned thing.

“Where to next, babe?” Jack asked, resting a hand at the small of Gabe’s back so he could gently guide him through the crowds. Gabe was a grown ass man and could steer himself. But he was also a grown ass man carrying a very large pink penguin. He appreciated the help.

“Your pick,” Gabe said.

Jack’s pick turned out to be the ferris wheel. Gabe was able to wedge the penguin onto the opposing seat, but that also meant he had to sit on the same side as Jack. He wondered if now was a bad time to mention he was afraid of heights. The cars jolted into motion, and too late Gabe reached out to grab Jack’s knee.

“Is there something the matter?” Jack asked, turning his head away from the view.

“You’re going to think this is really fucking stupid, But I’m terrified of heights,” Gabe said, swallowing thickly. Jack started to laugh, a full on belly laugh that shook the car as he rested his head in his hands.

“Oh my god Gabe, why didn’t you say something?” He asked, stifling laughter as he wiped at his eyes.

“I didn’t want to ruin your choice,” Gabe said stubbornly.

“I picked it because I thought you would like it. I hate cramped spaces, it makes me claustrophobic. _Especially_ when there’s a giant stuffed toy in here with me,” Jack said.

It was hard for neither of them to laugh then.

“Christ, we’re a mess,” Gabe said, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling of the car. He shut his eyes. No matter how funny this all was, he was still very aware of how far off the ground they were. The car jolted to a stop, and he dug his nails into Jack’s leg.

“Hey, it’s okay. They’re just letting some people off,” Jack said, leaning out the side. Gabe reached out and grabbed Jack’s shirt.

“Don’t do that. You’ll fall out,” He said through gritted teeth.

“I’m not gonna fall out, Gabe.” Jack responded.

“Please, just stay still,” Gabe said, and rested his head against Jack’s shoulder. He smelled of motor oil and irish spring soap. Gabe breathed in deep, focusing on that. Several minutes passed. Jack started to hum with uncertainty.

“What’s the matter?” Gabe asked, not quite opening his eyes just yet.

“I think the operator can’t get the ferris wheel underway again. Looks like we’re stuck,” Jack said.

“Christ,” Gabe said again. He tried to focus on keeping his breathing easy, and ignored the growing amount of panicked voices below.

“Hey Gabe, I know you really like this penguin, but could we like, shove it out the window? It might help,” Jack said breathlessly. Gabe opened an eye. The penguin stared at them with its lopsided gaze, the felt rose in its mouth wilting downwards.  

“You want me to kill my only daughter?” Gabe joked, placing a hand on his chest. “Rosa Marie Reyes?”

“Well shit, you named it. Nevermind,” Jack said.

“Shit man, what kinda farmer logic is that? You can name something and still murder it,” Gabe said, grabbing the penguin roughly. He shoved it outside Jack’s window, pushing with all his might until the head was out of it.

“Okay, cityslicker, you try raising a baby chick from the egg and then kill it for food. It’s hard already without naming it Spot or some shit,” Jack said, shifting to help Gabe push the penguin out.

“Im sensing some childhood trauma from you,” Gabe said, bracing himself from the other side of the metal wall to push the penguin out. The damned thing refused to budge, until all at once the thing was going out, and Gabe lunged forward, and out towards the window. He felt Jack grab his legs, and he let out an extremely manly scream as he saw how far down the ground was. People craned their heads up from the penguin to him. Jack hauled him back in, and Gabe clung to him as Jack craned his head out of the window.

“The penguin is mine!! No one steal it or I’ll find you!” He shouted. He leaned back in, laughing.

“You okay Gabe?” He asked. Gabe found that he was clutching onto Jack rather tightly. Sheepishly, he let go.

“Uh, I think I’m over my fear of heights,” He mumbled, hunching down in the metal bench. Jack laughed, getting up to sit on the other side. The car rocked dangerously as he did so, and Gabe clutched the edge of the seat.

“On second thought, I’m going to die here and you’re my witness,” He said, shutting his eyes again.

“I’ll be sure to give a great eulogy at your funeral. ‘Here lies Gabriel Reyes, he killed his own daughter for me’,” Jack said.

“Shut the fuck up dude,” Gabe said.

“Feeling better without my daughter though?” Gabe continued after a moment, once the car had stopped rocking.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m definitely going to tear my hair out any second now, but yeah better than before,” Jack said, twisting the ring on his right finger absently. Gabe wanted to tell him he looked handsome like that, the neon carnival lights flashing on his cheekbones, his eyes cast in shadow as he kept his eyes downcast.

But that wasn’t the plan.

“So, how did you meet Ana?” Gabe asked.

“I gave her a discount on fixing up her minivan, and when her kid threw up all over the paperwork, I didn’t make a fuss over it,” Jack said.

“Ah, vomit, the one great unifier to mankind,” Gabe said.

“What about you?” Jack asked.

We went to college together. She helped me through my chemistry classes and I helped her with her physics. Now she’s a big time pharmacist and I can’t quite get hired by nasa,” Gabe said.

“Nonsense, they just don’t know what they’re missing out on,” Jack said.

“Hey, man, no need to be chipper, we’re both maudlin right? It’s cool,” Gabe said.

“I’m being honest, from what time I’ve known you, they’re seriously missing out,” Jack said earnestly.

“Hmmph, maybe I’ll use you as a reference next time then,” Gabe said.

“Sure, here’s my number,” Jack said, and then he honest to god took a pen out of his pocket and grabbed Gabe’s hand, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie up so he could write his number down in a neat scrawl. Gabe really was reliving his teenage days.

Gabe also wanted to kiss Jack. Gabe glanced up at Jack, catching him staring. Jack blushed, averting his eyes.

“Hey, I know that uh, I’ve been kinda making a joke out of things, but when we--if we ever get off this ride, do you want to go on a real date?” Gabe asked hesitantly.

“And here I was, thinking this was our real first date,” Jack said.

“It can be if you want, but we can also go to a fancy restaurant and eat the flesh of a cow named Spot that some poor farmboy murdered,” Gabe said. Jack guffawed, covering his mouth with his hands in shock.

“Oh my god Gabe, you’re such an ass,” He said, shaking his head.

“I hear I am an ass, and have quite the ass too,” Gabe joked, positioning himself so he could slouch comfortably in the car.

“I can attest to the second part,” Jack said absently, leaning out the window once more. If Gabe wasn’t half-worried about a freak accident occurring and Gabe falling to his death, he would’ve been deeply touched.

“Looks like they just figured out the issue,” Jack said, just as the car jolted into motion.

“Oh thank fuck, I can rescue my daughter,” Gabe said.

His daughter wasn’t there anymore. Jack insisted on filing a police report. Gabe made a show of how he was his one and only hero. Too bad poor Rosa Marie was in the lost and found when they finally found the carnival security, Gabe would’ve killed to see Jack earnestly describe Rosa as his daughter.

 

 

_So, How did your date with Jack go?_

_He’s alright. Got stuck in a ferris wheel_ _together._

 _‘Alright’? C’mon, give me the details,_ _Reyes_

_Eugh. we have a second date. Happy now?_

_Omg you’re not gonna die alone now_ _ <3 <3 <3 _

_Thanks for the support, Ana._

**Author's Note:**

> So I have three more chapters to go in the mermaid au...so naturally I procrastinate and spin out a ficlet instead. I promise the next chapter will be out Friday though! In the meantime, enjoy some awkward flirting. xoxo
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! Drop by starameter.tumblr.com to leave me an ask!


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